Sansamp Bass Driver DI+
 

Okay, this is a piece of gear that's talked about quite frequently, so its about time it had its own review thread.

Sansamp Bass Driver DI+

Manufacturer: Tech 21

Features: 4.5/5
Very feature loaded for such a small device. One instrument input, one affected output (post), one unaffected output (pre), one XLR/DI output, phantom, line or battery power supply, on/off switch (preamp), level, blend, bass, treble, presence, drive controls. I didn't give it a perfect 5, simply because it does not have a mid control. While many people complain about this, if you're judicious with your bass, treble and blend controls, you can have as much mids as you'd like.

Sound (preamp): 3.5/5
Very very very warm. Reminiscent of an all-tube amp. If you A/B the device with a real all-tube amp, its obvious which one is which, but this thing does a great job of recreating an all-tube amp's tone, but in a much smaller, much lighter and much cheaper package. The sound can easily become muddy if you're not judicious with the bass tone controls. Also, this is not the "quickest" preamp ever made. It does not pickup signal transients with lightning fast speed. In comparison to my BBE BMax (which is ridiculously fast) this thing is the sonic equivalent of a snail. The treble control is fairly tame, and even at high settings does not become harsh or put a lot of "hiss" into your signal. The presence control is a bit tricky. If you add too much your tone turns into an immediate "clank" machine, and adding more will easily create a lot of "hiss" in your signal. No mid control, but combine judicious cutting of the bass and treble bands, and use of the blend control, and you can have as much mids in your signal as you'd like.

Sound (DI): ?/5
I gave this a '?' rating because its too tricky to give an accurate review. I'll explain why and then you can form your own opinion. When the preamp is turned on, it delivers the preamp's tone to the board/PA. If you want this tone to hit the board, I would give this thing a 5, simply because it gets the signal there, and does it very well, with phantom power as well! Now, if you disengage the preamp, it delivers the signal to the board, but it still colors the tone, despite the preamp being disengaged. The sign of a good DI is how transparently it can deliver your signal to the board. In this regard, this preamp gets a 2 in my opinion. Engaged, good, disengaged, bad. If you like the tone of the Sansamp and you want it to hit the board, you'll be just fine. However, if you're only going to use this thing for its DI functions and don't like the preamp, I'd look elsewhere because this is easily the least transparent DI I've ever heard.

Sound (overdrive): 3/5
The overdrive on this thing sounds pretty good. Not like a digital or transistor driven overdrive, but very much like a 12AX7 preamp tube being overdriven by cranking up the gain knob on a tube preamp. The reason I only gave it a 3 is that its not a versatile overdrive unit at all. Even at its maximum setting, it can only create a mild overdrive. That being said, the unit was never intended to be a full-on distortion unit, so my point about versatility might be irrelevant. If all you're looking for is an overdrive unit to add some "grind" or "grit" to your tone, this thing will do it, and do it very well.

Portability: 5/5
A complete non-issue, the device is very small, and very light.

Reliability: 5/5
This thing is built like a tank. Heavy gauge metal casing (not plastic), heavy-duty on/off switch that will resist many stomps.

Overall: 4/5
I really like this unit for two purposes. To add a bit of warmth and grit to my ultra-clean toned BBE preamp, and to serve as a DI to get my signal to the board, before it hits my amp in recording situations. I wish the output voltage was high enough to drive a power amp without boosting the signal at some point. Apparently on the newer versions they have increased the output voltage to allow it to drive a power amp sufficiently.

Manufacturer's alternates:

RBI (rackmounted version of the Bass Driver DI, with the addition of a few more output options and a dedicated mid control)

Programmable BDDI (same as the BDDI, but with 3 preset channels for seamless analog tone switching between 3 presets)

Other alternates:

MXR M-80 (very similar, but with overdrive on a separate channel from the preamp, and a much more "modern" tone, described by many as being very "nu-metal")

Hartke Bass Attack, Aguilar DB 924, Sadowsky Outboard, J-Retro Outboard (very similar, but with no overdrive)

((Please post a link to any new reviews in the review index. Great review though.))

Great review.

[QUOTE=Wintermute]((Please post a link to any new reviews in the review index. Great review though.))[/QUOTE]

Review index link posted :thumb: (thanks for the reminder). I'll try and post more gear reviews as I have time to write long posts (I'm posting while I'm at work :lol: )

has anyone tried the rackmount version of this? i have been very curious about it but have been unable to find a store with one for me to try out.

Its essentially the same thing, but it has a dedicated mid control as opposed to a relative one. There are a few more outputs on the back for different situations, but the core tones available are pretty much identical to the BDDI.

:) Good review edge.

/pops head back into Bass forum


I've been after one of these babies for a while, and it seems like it would be suitable for me. I want one before I go to uni, but I'm not prepared to pay full price (£180), so I'm keeping an eye on eBay.

That is, unless anyone here is selling one? I know 6 string demon sold his to Jaco about a year ago. :angry:

^^^Keep checking ebay, the talkbass.com classifieds section and on bassgear.com

Are there other things like the sansamp with the following things:
- mid control (I like to have a decent control there)
- more settings than on and off (more switches)
- overdrive may be in it..

[QUOTE=kili]Are there other things like the sansamp with the following things:
- mid control (I like to have a decent control there)
- more settings than on and off (more switches)
- overdrive may be in it..[/QUOTE]

Mid control is present on the BDDI, its just relative. If you turn down the bass and treble and use the blend knob judiciously you can have as much mids as you want. I've heard people argue that they like to boost bass treble and mids, but that's just ignorant. All that will produce is a volume boost. The BDDI does have a mid control in my opinion, so does every other 2-band EQ.

The MXR M-80 has the overdrive functions on a separate footswitch so it can be used independently. That being said, the overdrive is really crappy on that unit (IMO).

Thank you!
Than my eye is still on the sansamp BDDI :) I want to cut the mids though.

[QUOTE=kili]Thank you!
Than my eye is still on the sansamp BDDI :) I want to cut the mids though.[/QUOTE]

To cut the mids on this unit, simply boost the bass and treble knobs a bit, and that equates to a mid cut.

^I hope so. But I will check one out before I actually buy it so.. I usually cut the mids a bit and boost the bass and treble. So that should be allright then :)

Thanks!

^^^One thing to be aware of with this unit. There's a treble and a presence control. Lately I've determined that the treble control gets everything in the ballpark of 1khz and the presence knob gets everything above about 2khz, so be careful how you adjust those knobs.

^^ I still have to find one here around.. they are not SO expensive as I thought. But I will check it out before I buy one. I am still fiddling around and want to keep every way open :thumb:

I think you'll like it very much, especially with your affinity to the mid-scoop type of sound, I think this device does that VERY well. One thing that I definitely don't like is that with the treble control bottoming out at around 1khz, if you boost it too much, your tone can become overly nasal and clanky in a hurry. I typically run a slight bass boost, a slight treble and presence cut and a slight drive boost and..... wow..... just..... wow.....

HA ok :D
And the 3 presets are also a pretty good plus for the thing! I might get one as a gift if I get past my exams.. (when I put in some of my own money)

Thanks for all your help dude :smoke:

3 presets... So you're looking into the programmable version. I have no experience with that model, only the single channel version. Should be the same though (as far as tone is concerned).

It must be.. It uses the same technology etc. And it has the same functions :thumb:
[QUOTE]The all-analog circuitry features the same controls as its single channel predecessor: Drive, Bass, Treble, Presence, Blend and Level.[/QUOTE]

I guess so.

From what I understand, the programmable version has a high enough output voltage to drive a power amp on its own as well, which is VERY cool.

HA edge.. you make me love the thing more by the day! And I haven't even got one. How come that the programmable version has a very high output? Just the regular output (to your 'normal' amp) or is it one of the other outputs? If it is the normal output; that means that I'll have to plug in into an active bass input?

And just a question.. you can bypass the whole thing, can't you? Is it true bypass? Because that would make 4 tones out of one box :smoke: Which is easily enough for me :p


EDIT: I see! It has a button with 1/4" out boost! That is nicccccccce :naughty:

What I mean by the increased output voltage: The original versions of the Bass Driver DI did not have a high enough output voltage to drive an individual power amp. In other words, it was not possible to use them for a pre/power setup. This was the source of many complaints for Tech21. They revamped the new programmable version to have sufficienc output voltage to use it as a stand-alone preamp with a stand-alone power amp. Due to this increased voltage I would always plug this thing into the active input if you are using it in front of an existing preamp.

Yes, it is in fact true bypass, so in theory, yes, 4 tones are available right out of the box. Just make sure you program the level control into each setting so that you have unity gain throughout the settings and you'll be alright.

Here's some soundclips of this thing (some are for other Tech21 products, but the sounds are virtually identical)

[url]http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/fg=102/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/480206/[/url]
[url]http://tech21nyc.com/sounds.html[/url]

Great review edgebass. I absolutely love my Sansamp. I won't play live without it, pretty much. Recently I picked up a Nathan East EQ box which is nice in certain situations, but I'll always turn back to the Sansamp. Getting the three way programmable one soon. Cant wait!

^^^I'll be ditching my BDDI in favor of the RBI very soon (just to keep stuff away from my feet at a gig). Please post a review (or tack it to the bottom of this one) when you recieve your programmable version.

Nice reveiw Edgebass5 but I need to ask your opinion on something and I've been told that your'e the person to ask, so here it is, I'm looking to buy and I would like to know which active pickups you prefer out of warwicks and fenders, another reveiw gave the warwick corvette standard electronics 6/10 and I seek advice as to go with a a warwick active bass or a fender active bass? please help

^^^Well, to be logical, there are very few Warwicks that use active pickups (only the models with EMG's, which are not common anymore), and no Fender uses active pickups. You're thinking of an onboard preamp.... but I digress.

They're both very different animals in terms of feel and tone. While one may work brilliantly for you, the other might not. I really advise you to try them both out, because as I said, they are very different.

Oh, and you probably should have made your own thread about this :thumb:

[QUOTE=edgebass5]^^^I'll be ditching my BDDI in favor of the RBI very soon (just to keep stuff away from my feet at a gig). Please post a review (or tack it to the bottom of this one) when you recieve your programmable version.[/QUOTE]

I might be interested in buyig it depending on how much you for it

^^^It might be a while, but even then I might just keep it to have a backup DI in the case of amp failure.